This past Sunday, New York Magazine posted a feature highlighting the stories of the thirty five women who have come together to speak out about the sexual assaults endured from Bill Cosby. Below are images of the women and excerpts from their confessions.
Beverley Johnson claimed to have been assaulted in the mid 80’s. Johnson’s agent informed her that Cosby would like for her to audition for a small role on ‘The Cosby Show’. She met Cosby on set where he then invited her to his home. The first time she visited his home she was accompanied by her daughter. The second time Johnson visited Cosby’s home she was alone. He led her upstairs in order to “rehearse”, which is where he served her a cup of espresso. Johnson claims that after a couple sips she could tell she had been drugged and cursed at Cosby when he attempted to touch her waist. Cosby then dragged her out of the house into a cab. Johnson claimed in her defense “In the end, just like the other women, I had too much to lose to go after Bill Cosby,”. In her 2014 testimonial she stated “It comes at an inopportune time for a black man of Cosby’s stature. It’s a conversation of race very much needed in this country for centuries, and there’s a conversation about violence against women that’s also needed. You have these two conversations happening. Just so happens that I am a black woman. Once I made the decision, I knew that [it] was going to be fraught with a lot of conflicting views. No one wants to be victimized again.”
Patricia Leary Steuer: 59, former training and development specialist
Patricia Steuer claims to have been assaulted by Cosby in 1978 and 1980. At the time she was in her twenties, working for the University of Massachusetts. She met Cosby following a lecture he gave in 1978. He offered to mentor her as she pursued a career in music. The first assault occurred at Cosby’s Massachusetts home. Steuer was under the assumption she would be attending a dinner party, however when she arrived the table was set for two. He offered her a drink and requested she perform some improv acts. She began to feel woozy and the next thing she remembered was Cosby standing over her while she was naked in a bath robe. He told her she had gotten sick and passed out in his guest room. The second incident occurred in Atlantic City in Cosby’s hotel suite. He offered Steuer two pills and a glass of champagne. She woke up naked the next morning in one of the rooms of the suite.
35 women share their stories of Bill Cosby sexual assault
